Read Genesis 3 here or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Gen 2:1-3 {p} Seventh day of Creation
Gen 2:4-3:15 {s} Disobedience to YHVH’s command is sin
Gen 3:16 {s} Consequences for the woman (painful toil)
Gen 3:17-21 {p} Consequences for the man (painful toil)
Gen 3:22-24 {s} Exile from YHVH’s presence is a consequence of sin
In Gen 3 we begin seeing the second Hebrew paragraph division which God has embedded within the text of the Bible, the weak paragraph division. We mark it with {s} because its name in Hebrew begins with the ‘s’ sound. The weak division generally means, continuing in the same topic, but a new facet of it. We will come back to the weak division.
Another Scriptural teaching tool is History that Prophesies. The history recorded in the Bible is true history, events that actually happened, but those events prophesy of things to come. This characteristic is unique among the written histories of the world.
And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made. Gen 2:1-3
While the heaven and the earth were new, and still perfect, unmarred by any evil or sin, God set apart the seventh day – the Hebrew meaning of hallowed – as a day of resting from work.
But then sin did enter the perfect Creation in the very next chapter:
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Gen 3:6
God meted out the consequences of their sin, first to Eve:
To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply your toil in your labor; in toil you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.’ Gen 3:17
And then to Adam:
And to Adam He said, ‘Because you have paid heed to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it;” cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.’ Gen 3:18
The two consequences share the same characteristic: each will be painful toil for them; in fact, the word translated toil is the same word in Hebrew in both verses.
The traditional understanding of Gen 3:16, the woman’s painful toil, is that she will experience pain in childbirth. But the Hebrew makes it clear that her role of bringing forth children does not stop with just bearing them, but also raising them. The husband’s painful toil is similar in that it continues daily; with the added responsibility of knowing that his success at toiling means the difference between his wife and children being able to eat or go hungry.
So we see that painful toil in our daily labor, is the consequence of sin. But God in His grace extended mercy to man and woman before they ever sinned: He set aside the seventh day as a day of rest from labor from the foundation of the world. Every seventh day, men and women can lay down the consequence of their sin, their painful toil, burden, and responsibility, and enjoy a respite as a gift of grace.
So Sabbath rest is the first teacher of the Gospel of grace. The history happened, but it also prophesied of the Gospel of grace to come. The earned result of sin leads to death, but the undeserved free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, not by work, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9). Respite, salvation is given to us freely as a gift, because God is a gracious and merciful God from the foundation of the world.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Gen 3:24: He drove out the man – Christine Miller
Gen 3 and 4: On desiring to rule – Christine Miller
Hi Christine, I am confused by a couple of things and wondered if you have any insight.
1) Gen. 3:5 “you will be like a divine being and who knows good and bad.” Question: ‘divine being’ meaning sin free? and “who knows good and bad” …..what was the bad before creation that they could see it? and
2) Was there a wedding ceremony? And is that necessary? Or is marriage a commitment with YHWH at the head?
3) Gen. 3:22-24 The knowing good and bad and then “what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and LIVE FOREVER!” HMMMM that confuses me. How can he live forever if he eats again in disobedience of YHWH?
If you would like me to post questions elsewhere just let me know. Thank you Christine.
Wendy Moll
Hi Wendy,
1) The English “divine being” is in Hebrew, Elohiym, used for God, the true God, as well as for gods, that is, false gods, and human rulers and judges. The JPS translated Elohiym as God, singular with a capital G; the KJV translated it as gods, plural with a little g. Who is right? The grammar indicates either or, so it is a best guess. To translate it as “divine being” means a presupposition which may not be true has to be made. False gods are not divine beings, for example, and neither are human rulers. In any case, satan is a liar and the father of lies, so his word was likely untrue. We are not told what satan meant by “bad,” or, in the Hebrew, “evil,” but the last we are told about Creation before this, which we know to be true, is that “And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Gen 1:31
2) There was no wedding ceremony that we are told, although there might have been one that we are not told. See also Gen 24:64-67,
And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel. And she said to the servant, ‘What man is this, that walks in the field to meet us?’ And the servant said, ‘It is my master.’ And she took her veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted for his mother.
Another instance with no recorded wedding ceremony, or even witnesses, other than the servant. If we are speaking strictly biblically, I don’t see that a ceremony is mandated. The benefit of witnesses, though, I would think, is that later on if times are hard, the husband and wife cannot easily abandon each other.
3) It may be that the Tree of Life confers eternal life. This could be a historical event with spiritual significance. The Hebrew for “tree” is exactly the same as the Hebrew for “gallows,” as in Deu 21:23, which Paul quotes in Gal 3:13, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that is, a gallows, or cross. If one partakes of the Tree of Life, that is, spiritually, the cross upon which Yeshua hung, then he lives forever. But this is why the man was expelled from the Garden. YHVH did not want him living forever in his fallen, unregenerate state.